The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 30: Love is Irrational

Part 1/6

Once Ben and Gary entered the gates of the Book Club’s camp, everyone let out celebratory cheers and a round of applause rang throughout the settlement. All of the Book Club members were gathered around the entrance, clapping their hands as if they had just returned from war. Ben saw Samuel crossing his arms and leaning against a hut with a goofy looking Carnotaurus sitting down next to him. Samuel’s Raptor was looking at the Carnotaurus intensely.

“Finally, it took you two long enough to come back!” Sunny said with a grin.

“Oh cut us some slack, we were looking for hours before we found one of these!” Gary shot back while patting the head of the Kaprosuchus. Skyler walked down the pathway to the two with a soft smile on her face.

“You two did great,” Skyler said with unusual enthusiasm, “I’m glad you and Samuel and Ruby managed to return here with the tames. You have my thanks.”

“Of… course,” Ben replied as he stared at Skyler with relaxed eyes. Ben still couldn’t understand it. Why?

Why limit one’s self to just reading?

“So what’s the plan now?” Simon walked up to Skyler and asked, “Are we just going to keep building? There’s got to be more than that, right?”

Skyler nodded, then afterwards clapped her hands loudly, getting everyone’s attention. All ears and eyes were on her.

“Everybody, our mission to tame the Carnotaurus and Kaprosuchus was successful. But I need more answers and I want to know how to harness the power of the Obelisk!”

Everyone began to murmur amongst themselves, and some pointed at the Green Obelisk which floated in the sky. It felt so close, yet so far at the same time.

“What are you planning?” Samuel wondered as he stared at Skyler.

“I want to take a trip to the Obelisk and investigate it. In that book we’ve read, a piece of the Obelisk fell down for that creature to collect. As it held onto that Obelisk fragment it bonded further and further. Perhaps if we travel to the area we can find Obelisk fragments to use to our advantage. We’d be unrivaled and no one could hurt us.”

“Wait, wait wait, how do we even know that we’ll find fragments there?!” Neddy shouted out, “Whatever that means… What if it’s all just a waste of time? And who will stay behind to defend the camp?!”

“You need not worry,” Skyler reassured Neddy, “Even if we do not find fragments there we’ll get more information about the Obelisk, which is always a plus. Besides, people can stay behind to defend. I know I can count on Sunny, Paige, and Bobby.”

Sunny scoffed at the words, crossing her arms and looking away.

“Okay… Well I guess that’s not that bad, huh?” Neddy replied.

“Yeah, you don’t need to worry, newcomer. Besides, you should relax. Take a break,” Skyler said as she signaled to the campfire, “Celebrate our success in completing the mission and talk with friends and have a good time. I know being sent here was hard on us all, it’s important that in moments of time like these we socialize and let loose a little. Have fun.”

The others muttered in agreement, and they all began to head to the campfire to just chill and hang out. Skyler let out a little yawn, and began to head back to her hut when Samuel grabbed her arm.

“Wait. Skyler, isn’t it?”

Skyler turned around with an annoyed look on her face.

“What is it?”

“I just wanted to ask you something,” Samuel asked, “How did you know? How did you know my allies’ implant attributes and use it to create the expedition teams?”

Skyler shrugged, showing her implant to Samuel.

“Simple. I just do this.”

A strange hologram manifested in front of her face, which had the words printed, “CHECK” on it. Skyler pressed the button, and it blared red.

“USER COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED.”

Skyler looked at Samuel with a soft smile, and the CHECK button flickers away from sight.

“You don’t have an implant, do you?” Skyler whispered with bright eyes. Samuel blinked his eyes, then shook his head.

“No.”

“Don’t worry, it’s okay I won’t tell,” Skyler reassured him, “You are a clever man. You would be a great asset on our expedition to the Green Obelisk. Would you like to join our team?”

Samuel seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he knew he couldn’t lose an opportunity like this. Any clue to escape this island was a chance that could not be taken away.